Speaker Johnson's Israel bill hasn't driven a wedge between Schumer and McConnell.

Speaker Johnson’s Israel bill hasn’t driven a wedge between Schumer and McConnell.

Oct 31, 2023

Speaker Mike Johnson’s Israel aid strategy isn’t shaking Mitch McConnell’s alignment with Chuck Schumer on the issue.

The two Senate leaders, while they differ on critical policy details, are not wavering from their preference for a large aid package covering both Israel and Ukraine, despite the crosscurrents between the House and Senate — and within McConnell’s party. Schumer and McConnell also met recently on the topic, according to Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), marking what he called the “first step” toward discussion about what can pass the Senate.

McConnell knows his Republicans need a big border security component, beyond funding alone, in order for him to sell a bill that could total around $100 billion. Schumer has also made clear he wants humanitarian aid for Gaza, which Republicans do not like.

But in what would have been a rarity a few years ago on just about any issue, McConnell said Tuesday that “conceptually, Sen. Schumer and I are in the same place. … We view all of these problems as connected.”

We are working with Leader McConnell closely to try and get a package. We both feel strongly that we need aid for Israel, we need aid for Ukraine, for South Asia,” Schumer said, referring to Taiwan.

Of course, the Senate Democratic leader is a lot more willing than his GOP counterpart to criticize the new speaker’s approach. Schumer said Johnson’s bill, which cuts IRS funding to pay for aid to Israel, is “not a serious proposal” because it would increase the deficit.

McConnell was a bit more measured about his House counterpart’s first major piece of legislation.

“That’s an opinion many people have. It’s not surprising, but in order to make a law it has to pass both bodies and be signed by the president. And we’ll see if the bill comes out of the House — and if so, what kind of margin it has,” McConnell said Tuesday. “My own view, as I just expressed, is we need to treat all four of these areas.”

However, some conservatives in the Senate prefer Johnson’s approach. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that McConnell is “out of touch with the conservative base of our party. The conservative base of our party wants Israel aid to be by itself and they want it to be paid for.”

Anthony Adragna contributed to this report.

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